CUTTACK: Law cannot compel a person to endure a marriage that has become a source of suffering and torment, the Orissa High court has held while upholding a Family Court order allowing divorce of a couple.
The divorce was granted on the ground that the husband was subjected to repeated threats of committing suicide by the wife, coupled with physical aggression and public humiliation.
“This court is of the considered opinion that the repeated threat of suicide or violence is not merely misconduct; it is an insidious form of emotional blackmail and psychological oppression.
Such conduct crosses the boundaries of personal conflict and touches upon the very core of harassment, making it impossible for the aggrieved spouse to continue leading a peaceful and dignified marital life, “ the bench of Justice BP Routray and Justice Chittaranjan Dash observed.
While the couple was married in 2003, the husband sought dissolution of marriage on grounds of cruelty in 2009, alleging that his wife’s conduct had made it impossible for him to continue the marriage. His primary grievances included constant quarrels, financial control, repeated threats of suicide and the forced eviction of his elderly parents from their home by her with help of local goons.
The Family Court, Cuttack, granted the divorce subject to payment of `63 lakh towards permanent alimony by the husband on August 7, 2023. However, the wife challenged the order in the high court seeking restitution of conjugal rights.
The bench dismissed her appeal on March 19 observing, “The findings of the Family Court are rooted in sound legal reasoning and supported by overwhelming evidence. The wife’s actions, viewed collectively, meet the threshold of mental cruelty as defined under Section 13(1) (i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act.”
“The institution of marriage rests upon the pillars of trust, compassion, and mutual respect, that form the very essence of a harmonious marital bond. In the instant case, however, the fabric of this relationship has been irreparably torn apart by a sustained pattern of mental cruelty inflicted upon the husband by the wife,” the court observed.